Harley, a 3-year-old border collie Australian shepherd mix, died during a grooming appointment at K-9 Kingdom in Woodbury Heights in July. The owner of the business has been indicted.(Provided Photo/Ashley Jenkins)
A Gloucester County grand jury has indicted a dog groomer on animal cruelty and drug charges after a customer’s pet died at his business over the summer.
Trevor J. Hunt, owner of K-9 Kingdom in Woodbury Heights, was arrested July 12 after he contacted a family to let them know their 3-year-old border collie Australian shepherd mix, named Harley, died during her grooming appointment.
The family contacted police, who went to the business to investigate.
Hunt, 40, allegedly became uncooperative with officers and tried to delete evidence from his phone, according to police. He was taken into custody.
A search of the business turned up more than a half ounce of heroin packaged in more than 60 small plastic baggies, according to an affidavit of probable cause filed with his charges.
Harley’s owners were stunned by her death, describing her as a high-energy pet with no known health issues.
The animal was taken to the New Jersey Animal Health Diagnostics Lab in Ewing for a full evaluation, according to police.
A necropsy on Harley revealed no signs of illicit drugs in her system or any obvious indications of what caused her death, Woodbury Police Chief Tom Ryan said this week.
On Wednesday, a grand jury indicted Hunt on four counts, including third-degree cruelty to animals, for allegedly failing to provide the dog with necessary care while in his custody.
He was also indicted on third-degree counts of possession of a controlled dangerous substance and possession with intent to distribute a controlled dangerous substance. He was also indicted on a fourth-degree tampering with physical evidence charge for allegedly deleting texts from his phone after being told the phone was being taken as evidence.
Hunt remains in Salem County Correctional Facility.
His lawyer indicated during a July court appearance that Hunt struggles with drug dependency issues and would seek admission to Recovery Court, an alternative judicial pathway for those dealing with addiction to get treatment while remaining under probation supervision.
An application for that program was filed and later withdrawn, according to court records.
His lawyer did not immediately respond to a request to comment Friday.
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Matt Gray may be reached at mgray@njadvancemedia.com.
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